Shloka 124
Brahmin Right Conduct: Morning Remembrance, Bathing, Purification, and Tarpaṇa Method
उत्तरे पश्चिमे चैव न स्वपेद्धि कदाचन । स्वप्नादायुः क्षयं याति ब्रह्महा पुरुषो भवेत्
uttare paścime caiva na svapeddhi kadācana | svapnādāyuḥ kṣayaṃ yāti brahmahā puruṣo bhavet
उत्तरे पश्चिमे वा शिरः कृत्वा कदाचन न स्वपेत्। तादृशात् स्वप्नादायुः क्षयं याति; ब्रह्महत्यादोषभाग् पुरुषो भवेत्।
Unspecified (narratorial/instructional voice within Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa context)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: स्वपेद्धि = स्वपेत् + हि (त् + ह् → द्ध्); स्वप्नादायुः = स्वप्नात् + आयुः (त् + आ → दा); स्यान्न/भवेद् प्रकारेण अन्त्यव्यञ्जन-सन्धिः
FAQs
It prohibits sleeping oriented toward the north or the west (i.e., with one’s head in those directions), presenting it as a rule of proper conduct.
It states that such sleep leads to a decline of lifespan, and it hyperbolically warns that one may incur grave sin, likened to brahma-hatyā (the sin of killing a brāhmaṇa).
The verse emphasizes disciplined daily habits (ācāra) as part of dharma, teaching that seemingly small actions are treated as spiritually consequential in Purāṇic moral instruction.